The Cold WarThe Cold War refers to the nonviolent rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union Soviet Union immediately after World War II. It caused great animosity and affected relations with the Soviet Union over the years. The problems between these two countries occurred due to the fear of a communist takeover by the Soviet Union. Many people have differing opinions about who was to blame for the Cold War. America generally believed for a long time that the Cold War was caused by the Soviet Union and primarily by Joseph Stalin. In Jeffery Burds, “The Early Cold War in Soviet West Ukraine, 1944-1948,” Burds challenges this general belief and provides evidence that aggressive U.S. actions frightened the Soviets. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In World War II, there were the Axis powers and the Allied powers. The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Japan and Italy. The Axis leaders were Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito. The Allied Powers consisted of Great Britain, the United States, China and the Soviet Union. The leaders of this group were Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Then, in World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies against the Germans. The Soviets really took a beating as they fought Germany head-on. They lost approximately 27 million people trying to stop the Nazis. The United States lost only about 400,000 soldiers fighting on two fronts against the Italians and Germans in Europe and against the Japanese in the Pacific. The Soviets shed much more blood, sweat and tears when it came to fighting the Nazis. Substantial evidence regarding Western support for nationalist guerrillas in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltics was discovered by the Soviets. First they obtained information from a report by Nikita Khrushchev, addressed to the secretary of the TSK KPU[Ukraine]. In the letter he explains that some groups are preparing cadres for war with the USSR. He then goes on to say, “These regiments are directed, apparently by order of England and America, to start a war with the USSR after the crushing defeat of the Germans by the Red Army” (Burds 19). He is telling Stalin that America and England are clearly helping the rebel armies. This was the first example of intelligence gathered by the Soviets on Ukrainian rebels. The next example was when Soviet intelligence intercepted and captured German reports regarding British support for anti-Soviet rebels in Poland and Ukraine. Intelligence agents on the ground in western Ukraine reported that a band of Ukrainian nationalists surrounded the village of Kuhaiv. They reported that the soldiers wore German uniforms with German machine guns but spoke Ukrainian. The soldiers subdued local party leaders and a Red Army sergeant. These soldiers said, "Don't bother us and we won't bother you." The soldiers did not harm anyone but explained that the war would soon be over and that they would win (Burds 20). Soviet intelligence analysts who were higher up in the intelligence apparatus tried to interpret these reports. The initial reaction to all these reports was to downplay their importance. They initially discounted the seriousness of the charges. They dismissed the claims and ignored suggestions of foreign support for anti-Soviet rebels. At first these analysts didn't believe anyone.